Going on a family vacation? Do you only have a day for the beach? Spend the day at the Cocoa Beach Pier, it has everything you need for a fun filled day. When I go to Cocoa Beach with my family, we always spend one of our days here.
Have more time, check out Cocoa Beach Florida, for more beaches and things to do.
Map It! The Cocoa Beach Pier is located at 401 Meade Ave., Cocoa Beach, Florida 32931. How to get there, from 520 go a half mile north off of A1A from 520. Plug this destination into your navigation system before your leave.
The choices at the Cocoa Beach Pier are almost endless…
Hang out on the beach, surf, skim board and swim. You can rent beach chairs and beach umbrellas.
Restaurants and Bars, if you don’t want to pack a picnic lunch, not a problem, the Cocoa Beach Pier has several places to eat and drink…
Snack bars, ice cream, bikini bars, casual restaurants and a nice seafood restaurant. Stroll off the beach in your bikini or swim suit to the Board Walk Bar or Oh Shucks Seafood Bar for a drink and oysters. These are a couple of my favorite bikini bars in Cocoa Beach Florida.
There are showers, restrooms and plenty of parking so you can be comfortable all day.
Beach Activities
There’s plenty to do here all day long, especially if you don’t mind a nice beach walk and chillin in a chair..Skim boarding and Surfing in the Cocoa Beach Pier waves. The locals surf out by the pier and the beach seems to draw the skim boarders. This is one of two locations where Ron Jon Surf Shop Cocoa Beach uses for it’s annual Easter surfing and skim boarding contest.
Beach Volleyball - they usually have three courts set up, so bring your own volleyball.
Paddleball
Fishing off the Pier - Rent or bring your own equipment
And more...
Bikini Beach Bars on the Cocoa Beach Pier
Sandbar Sports Grill & Bar Need a drink? This is a bar. The drinks are cheap, the front of the bar is open air to the parking lot for people watching. Unfortunately you can’t see the beach, same problem with the porch at Captain J’s, but girls in a bikini still walk by.
Tiki Bar on Cocoa Beach Pier, have a drink, fish or watch the Dolphins. This Bikini bar is a long way out, 800 feet from shore.
The Boardwalk on Cocoa Beach Pier, stroll up from the beach onto the pier and grab a beer or frozen daiquiri. This is where I go for a late afternoon cocktail. Sit in the shade, have a drink and some munchies and watch some bikini beach volleyball, skim boarding and surfing. The crowd on the beach can get pretty interesting after a day of drinking.
Oh Shucks Seafood Bar, at the foot of the Cocoa Beach Pier and open on all four sides. Suck down some oysters and listen to the band.
Captain J’s, want to take a walk from the pier, walk south on the beach to Captain J's or the Sandbar Sports grill. They are less than a mile. See Cocoa Beach for more details.
Cocoa Beach Pier Restaurants
Atlantic Ocean Grill ($$$) is probably the nicest Cocoa Beach restaurant on the ocean. Sit at a table with a northern view up the beach. Succulent steak or fresh seafood are two of it’s specialties. They also have a Champaign brunch on Sunday’s.
Marlin’s Good Time Bar and Grill ($$) Stop in any time, it’s about half way out the pier with a great view south towards Cocoa Beach. Snacks, sandwiches, seafood… in a relaxed casual atmosphere.
Oh Shucks Seafood Bar ($$) Obviously very casual since it's a bikini bar (see above). Oysters and seafood are the fare. It’s located at the base of the Cocoa Beach pier.
Other Cocoa Beach Restaurants
Other Beaches near by
Check out Cocoa Beach Florida for other nearby beaches like: Jetty Park Beach (two miles north), Cocoa Beach Ocean Beach Park (1 mile south) and Cherie Beach Park (1 mile north).Events
Music, surfing and the beach. The Cocoa Beach Pier sponsors “Concert on the Beach”, where they bring in big bands like the Beach Boys for a concert with the ocean and pier as a back drop.
Beach Fest, brings all kinds of Musicians and bands to the beach to compete.
Annual Easter surfing festival fills up the beach. Between the pier and Cocoa Beach Ocean Park, hundreds of surfers and skim boarders compete for cash prices. This event is now sponsored by Ron Jon Surf Shop Cocoa Beach.
O’Shucks and the Board Walk usually have bands or musicians playing on the weekends.
Shopping
Stop at the Gift Shop on the pier, a small shop where you can pick up some Florida trinkets and t-shirts. I think the name of it’s now Ocean notions and they have their own line of beach gear.
Seadogs, located at the base of Cocoa Beach Pier, has you covered. From beach umbrellas to suntan lotion you can get all your beach gear here. See My Beach Gear List.
If you don’t mind a short walk (less than a quarter mile) or you can drive. There is a large beach store on the corner of A1A and Meade Ave where you can pick up anything you may have forgotten like Sex Wax.
Pull your mind out of the gutter, your kids may need some Sex Wax if they surf or skim board.
About the Pier
Over a million visitors check out the pier every year, you should too. I did a little research on the history of the Cocoa Beach Pier. It's privately owned, it was built in 1962 with a major addition being added in 1983. Open 365 days a year, it employees over 150 people. The Pier has changed it’s look several times and so have the restaurants.
The wood pilings, which support the pier, are constantly being battered by the cocoa beach pier waves, requiring continual maintenance. Stand in the ocean and take a wave, these pilings which are driven fifteen feet into the ocean floor, take this 24 – 7. When you walk under the pier, it’s kind of amazing that it’s still standing and worth millions.
Back to Cocoa Beach Florida
